Semi-auto vs. revolver reliability

[lmc]

Hi,i was just wondering ya'll thoughts on this because i am considering selling my beretta 96 to purchase a GP 100 in .357 mag and i wanted to know how water, sand, dirt and such would affect one vs. the other on the reliability stand point for use as a side arm in the woods, hunting and fishing. thanks

[Lloyd Smale]

niether are going to work well with sand in them. I guess they both will take alot of abuse though. Look what the navy seals carry and consider the enviroment they carry in. If autos were a big problem to them im sure they wouldnt carry them.

[williamlayton]

There is much more mechanical probabilities with the Semi-auto to malfunction.
The thought here is reliability.
The semi-auto 1911, based on most thought, requires some/much/needs the touch of knowledgeable hands to bring it close to the rvolver in the form of reliability.
There are some designs which require less of this touch and perform better, out of the box, than the 1911. Much of this is on a manufacturerer by maunfacturerer basis.
The thought on the 1911 and semi-autos, in general, is the need for greater capacity, faster operation and quicker reloading than provided by revolvers.
Most all of the 1911's and other designs can be made too be reliable enough under adverse conditions to warrant the need for these designs over the revolver.
See "Murphy's Law" for a disclaimer.
Blessings

[Questor]

Most guys use a good holster to keep the dirt and sand out of their handguns.

[Old Griz]

Just how much dirt and sand do you plan to wallow in? If a lot, get a Glock. 50% fewer parts than your Beretta, and more reliable. However, if you don't plan on taking it into desert combat, the GP100 would be a great choice. Three levels of power there with .38s, +Ps, and .357, and after all . . . it is a .357!

[poncaguy]

I have 2 GP100's...........my favorite pistols......also have Ruger P90, P95, P345, Dan Wesson and one Glock. All reliable, but would go with m my GP 100 357"s

[KYsquirrelsniper]

For all practical purposes, a revolver is always going to be more reliable than a semi-auto simply because there's fewer moving parts and the ammo isn't making a transition from a magazine into the chamber. That still doesn't mean revolvers are 100% reliable, but they are more reliable than a semi-auto.

However, as has been said, with enough dirt (especially sand or dust) any gun can refuse to work. The one good thing about a revolver though, if you know you're going to have it in dust or sand, you can simply not oil the moving parts (so they won't hold the grit) and the gun will still function fine. Of course I don't recommend running them dry all the time, but you can do it if it's called for.

FWIW, IMO most qualitysemi-autos using quality magazines and good ammo are reliable enough to trust your life to, as long as the gun is properly maintained. With good equipment and proper maintenance, you should have at most only one or two malfunctions every 1,000rds, which of course is a failure rate of only one to two tenths of 1%.
 

[Tom C.]

I believe the military settled this with the test program that resulted in adoption of the 1911. The revolvers in the test were the first to fail in adverse military type environmental conditions.
That said, there is something to be said for the mechanical reliability of revolvers, when kept in reasonably clean.
The volcanic sand of Iwo Jima was some of the worst of the war. It tied up everything. M-1 Garands, etc.
Bottom line, personal preference will probably determine your pick, as it should. Then keep it clean, properly oiled, with good ammo.

[Questor]

I recall reading about the tests and they used what is certainly a good standard for a battle gun: They dunked them in mud and other stuff to see if they could get them to fail. You probably don't need that kind resistance to mud. It's interesting to note that handgun hunters and people who carry handguns for defense in the wild almost exclusively prefer the revolver, mostly because of its simplicity, reliability, and power.  That's probably a better standard unless you're actually going to battle with the gun.

[eaglewatch]

I agree that the revolver usually always goes bang when you pull the trigger, but a good stock 1911...made to government specs and not too tight is pretty reliable. I was in the first Persian Gulf War and my unit carried GI 1911's while others had the M9 Beretta. Our 1911's performed a little better with less maintenance. Mine always went bang, where the M9 had to be cleaned daily, and some of those guys would carry theirs in sandwich bags. I usually gave mine a thorough cleaning once a week unless we had a sandstorm or were in a dirty enviornment, then I cleaned it before and after. Other than that I just wiped it down every day.

[TreyAzagthoth]

both revolvers and autos are reliable depending on the make and model, with that in mind it depends on what you're using it for
for me
Automatic for self defense against humans
For large game, revolver just because i could get it in a 44 mag(wouldnt want to carry a Desert Eagle or automag int he woods) or a 480 etc.